Angel Season 6
by Spike868
Summary: It's the season you've all been waiting for. What happens to the Angel team? And who comes to the rescue? Read and find out!
1. Reunited

Angel Season 6

Episode One: Reunited

Summary: Picks up where '_Not Fade Away_' left off. Some familiar faces appear in the alley and the fight for humanity is not over.

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Alley behind the Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles – night

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The battle was raging and already there were more wounds on the home team than could be counted. They were bloodied, beaten, battered and bruised and were tiring fast.

"Angel!" Spike yelled through the army of demons. "I don't think I'm gonna be able to last much longer!"

"Me…" Angel yelled back, snapping the neck of a demon between his words. "… Either!"

"If they don't ease up soon we're gonna lose!" Gunn shouted as he darted between live and dead bodies, killing the live ones with a swift swing of his sword as he ran.

"Gunn, you okay?" Angel asked between killings, stopping momentarily to check on his fellow comrade.

"I've been better." He spun around and began fighting again, holding the same front as Angel. A few metres ahead and off to the left, Spike was fighting a beast much larger than himself. Across the alley from him, Illyria was doing her best to stay alive. Angel glanced her way briefly to see if she was doing okay. It was a mistake, which he realised moments later.

A demon tackled him to the ground, pummelling him and knocking his sword from his hand. It clattered across the ground, landing in a shallow puddle. With the demon kneeling on his chest pounding on him and him without a weapon, he was helpless to the mercy of the beast.

He grunted loudly and painfully with every blow he received. He could feel his lip bleeding and tasted the bitter blood trickling between his lips, but he wasn't sure if it was from a previous wound or if it was just rain falling on his face. With what felt like the last amount of strength he had left in him, Angel threw a punch back at the demon and knocked it to the ground. He rolled over and on top of the beast and began pummelling it.

"How do you like it, huh?" He shouted through the rain, which had begun to fall heavier. Spike looked over after he managed to defeat the demon he was currently battling and scanned the battleground for Angel. He saw Angel sitting on top of the demon, beating on it vigorously.

"Angel, don't waste your energy!" Spike shouted as he returned to fighting.

Angel quickly reached for into his jacket, ripped out a stake and plunged it deep into the demon's chest. It exploded into a thousand tiny pieces of dust beneath him and Angel quickly got to his feet.

He continued the battle, every now and then glancing towards his friends to see that they were all still alive. The battle raged for hours longer, and they were rapidly getting weaker.

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Watcher's Council, England – next day, different time zone

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Giles, Buffy, Willow, Xander, Faith and Andrew sat around a large rectangular table in one of the Watcher's Council's meeting rooms. Spread out in the middle of the table were images, numbers and figures on documents describing the massive horrors that were currently taking place in Los Angeles.

"There is a serious supernatural disturbance in the skies above L.A. and it demands our urgent attention." Giles began explaining. "Something is happening over there that is blowing the tops off our gauges here in England. We _must_, I repeat _must_ head over there right away and try to put an end to whatever the trouble is."

"Giles, Angel is in L.A. He's probably already taking care of the problem." Buffy paused. "Oh God, do you think he's alright?" She asked, suddenly realising the danger and trying not to sound too frantic.

"There is no way to tell Buffy. Before the problem gets any worse, we need to gather the strongest and best trained of the Slayers and ship them over to Los Angeles as soon as possible."

"Giles, do you have any idea what this thing might be?" Xander asked.

"I'm afraid not. You know as much as I do."

"Well we've gotta get over there and find out what's going on." Willow said, repeating Giles' sentence.

"Buffy, Faith; go and organise the Slayers and prepare them for an unknown lengthy stay in Los Angeles. Tell them to pack light, into only a few suitcases. Have it done within the hour."

Giles proceeded to give orders to Willow, Xander and Andrew and then they all went their separate ways, preparing to head over to America to help in any way possible. Giles stayed back in the meeting room examining the evidence of the problem. His sources had emailed photos of the clouded sky in L.A. and the darkness, the raging storm and the horrors that must be unveiling over there. He gathered up the documents and left the room, going off to organise himself for the trip.

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Alley behind the Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles – same day, early hours of the morning

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The rain had begun to fall heavier, and Angel and his friends were beginning to feel the heat. There were hundreds of demon bodies scattered around the dirty little alley, and many more had been reduced to merely piles of dust. Angel was the first to notice a slight change as the army began to thin out.

"Spike!" he shouted, the roaring of beasts beginning to fade as they all continued killing. "What's going on?" Angel looked down the alley to see only a few more demons running towards them.

"I don't know, maybe they're all scared of us." Spike joked. Within moments, there were no demons left alive in the alley, and Spike and Angel stopped, standing next to each other. They were breathing heavily and unnecessarily; clutching their wounds and their swords tightly.

"Somehow I don't think so." Gunn came running from behind Spike and Angel and stopped between them. Within minutes, the last of the demons were dead, and Angel, Spike, Gunn and Illyria gathered in the middle of the alley.

"What is going on here?" Angel repeated.

"It appears that the Hell-beasts have stopped coming." Illyria stated.

"Yeah, thanks for your contribution, Blue." Spike said sarcastically. "Where the hell _have_ they all gone? I mean, one minute we're in a fight for our lives and now we're standing here wondering how the hell we survived."

"Yeah, that thought has crossed my mind." Angel added

"So what, is this over or is there more to come? I thought this was a kill-or-be-killed kinda thing that we _weren't_ gonna be coming out of alive." Spike asked.

"It can't be over." Angel replied. "Not yet." Just as he spoke, even before anyone could move, there was a deafening clap of thunder in the sky. It was followed by a brilliant flash of lightning, after which everyone had to blink several times in order to see again.

"Spoke too soon mate." Spike turned to Angel. "You couldn't have said something more _positive_?"

"Come on; show us what you've got!" Angel shouted suddenly. Gunn, Illyria and Spike's eyes were fixed on Angel, and the image of him standing in the rain staring up at the clouds was enthralling, to say the least. They couldn't figure it out, but there was something about the way that Angel wasn't afraid at all; it bugged them. They knew they signed up to die, but it wasn't about that anymore. It was about the fight.

A split second later, after another clap of thunder and flash of lightning, roaring and screaming could be heard from the end of the alley. Angel's team could only look on in horror as more demons came running into the alley, with nothing to stop them. There were hundreds, running at full speed towards them.

"Well, I asked them to show us what they've got." Angel said as he once again raised his sword to begin combat.

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Los Angels Airport, next day, early hours of the morning

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"Quickly girls, hurry." Giles led the 200-odd Slayers through the pouring rain to an awaiting line of old yellow school buses. Giles led the first load of girls onto the first bus and stopped to talk to the driver. "Thank you Bruce, for offering your services to us."

"Ah, no problem Rupert. I owe you anyway." Bruce replied and started the bus. Giles stepped out and the doors slid closed. Buffy and Faith were leading the other girls onto the three remaining buses and preparing them to be led out. The doors all closed and Buffy, Faith, Xander, Willow, Andrew and Giles gathered under an awning against the side of the airport terminal building.

"Giles, all the girls are on the buses and they're ready to go." Willow informed him.

"Thankyou, Bruce knows where to take them. But we have to beat them there. We have a few hours before the sun is meant to rise, but by the looks of it that won't be happening any time soon. We need to get to the alley you saw in your dream Buffy, as fast as we possibly can."

"Giles, we don't have long. You only told us about this yesterday, and all of us Slayers had a dream last night. That has to say something. This thing is _huge_, bigger than anything we've ever faced. And it's not good, so we need to act fast." She paused and looked around. "Where's our ride?"

"Another friend of mine is picking us up in a mini-van soon, and we're going to go straight to the hot spot." Giles confirmed. A mini-van pulled up next to them only moments later and before they could get wet, they piled inside the van and were driving off before even doing up their seatbelts.

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_Alley behind the Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles, later that morning_

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Angel was on the ground, unconscious. He lay against a wall leaving Spike, Gunn and Illyria to continue the fight. Spike kept calling out to Angel, trying to wake him up but he was unsuccessful. He just kept praying that Angel would wake before he was dusted.

Illyria was a fighting machine. Through the storm, the thunder and lightning she kept kicking, punching and swinging her sword at anything that came her way.

Gunn was close to death. He struggled to stand, yet alone fight. Spike saw him go down, and tried to reach him.

"Gunn!" he shouted over the noise of all the demons. "Gunn, get up!" A demon towered over him, and as he looked up he realised that he was going to die.

"Looks like I'm the first to go…" He said, knowing that only he could hear himself over all the noise. He allowed the beast to pull him to his feet before throwing him across the alley and into the wire fence at least ten metres behind them. Spike's eyes followed him, and as he landed Spike saw on the other side of the fence a shocking number of civilians approaching.

_What the hell are they doing? They're going to get killed_! Spike thought to himself. He watched as Gunn struggled to move. Then he spun back around to continue fighting, because it was all there was left to do.

Illyria fought her hardest, managing to blow back an entire line of demons with one wave of her hand. Wesley had taken not all her powers.

_Wesley_. The name that kept replaying in her head. It was why she was still fighting; for him. He was the reason she had not given up hope that they would win, because she had to unleash the anger built up at the moment of his death. She was overcome with grief, _human grief_, but didn't let it stop her from doing what she knew had to be done.

Angel woke, and found himself lying against a wall beside a dumpster. He looked around to see Spike desperately trying to hold the demons off, and Illyria doing the same. He looked over to the wire fence to see Gunn lying still, with no demons around him, just lying there alone. He looked up, past Gunn to see a crowd of people on the other side of the fence.

"What the…?" he whispered. Then he saw a familiar face. Heading the crowd was Faith, and Angel instantly understood. The Slayers had come to help save the day, and Angel couldn't say that he wasn't glad about that.

Angel watched as the crowd moved closer, and he could faintly hear Faith shouting orders to the girls.

"Okay, this is it. Don't let your guard down, under any circumstances. Fight to your full potential and never let the enemy get the upper hand in a fight. Now, charge!" Faith led the girls towards the battle and as one they crashed down the fence and joined Angel, Spike, Illyria and Gunn in the tiny alley. Faith saw the familiar face of Gunn at her feet and quickly dragged his body to the side so the young Slayers could charge past.

"Gunn. Gunn!" she shouted at him as he lay in her arms. His eyes were closed, his body was limp and Faith couldn't tell if he was breathing because of the exhilaration of the moment. She put his arm over her shoulder and carried him to a broken door that she uneasily slid through and laid him on the floor. She began CPR, trying to resuscitate him.

Angel appeared at the door, using the doorframe to help him stand. He looked out at the army of young Slayers fighting, then turned back to watch Faith.

"Faith." He said softly. Faith spun around to see yet another familiar face.

"Angel." She looked back down to Gunn. "I... I don't think he's gonna make it." She added sadly.

"Come on." Angel made his way to the floor beside Gunn. "You breathe, I'll push." She continued CPR, and Angel slipped in a press of Gunn's chest every so often.

Gunn coughed and a little bit of rainwater came out of his mouth. He looked up to see Faith and Angel looking down at him. He ached, and struggled to keep breathing.

"I… can't." he choked out, spluttering from the water and blood in his throat. "Do… this." Angel tilted his head down in sympathy for his fallen comrade.

"Come on Gunn, what happened to the big strong guy I met last year?" Faith asked, trying to get him to push on.

"He got beat." Gunn coughed again then pulled his jacket open to reveal a nasty wound in his side.

"God, we gotta get you to a hospital." Faith murmured. "Angel, you got a cell phone?"

Angel fumbled around in his jacket pocket. He was surprised he still had the thing, and wasn't sure if it would even work because of all the water.

He stepped outside quickly, trying to keep the phone out of the rain. He dialled 911 and told an operator his location. "Bring backup." He said, saying that there was going to be a lot of injured people.

He returned to Faith who remained on the floor with Gunn and crouched beside them. "What did you tell them?" she asked.

'I explained Gunn's situation and that he needed medical attention fast, and then I said that a bunch of girls were attacked on the street and are also in need of medical attention." Angel explained, smirking slightly at what he thought was an ingenious idea.

"Good move, but is it wise to bring civilians into this?" Faith asked.

"We can't think about that right now. We just have to trust that they will be isolated from the fight and protected, because we need the medical help for the girls. By the way, thanks for coming."

"Nice to see you too Angel." Faith leant over and hugged him.

"How _did_ you know to come here? _All_ of you?" Gunn spoke up, struggling to hold himself up.

"Giles informed us of some weird stuff happening around here and then all the Slayers had a weird dream last night about a big fight going down. So, here we are to help." Faith explained.

"Well, it's good to see you again." Angel answered, smiling warmly. It didn't come across as he was planning, partly because of his bloodied and swollen face.

"Angel, did you want me to clean up some of your wounds?" Faith offered.

"'No, I really should be out there. I started this whole thing, now I've got to finish it. And as much as I regret saying this, you… you can't be here." Faith looked at him, puzzled. "You, the other Slayers and anyone else who came with you; you can't stay. You'll all die, because there is no other way out of this."

"Angel, what the heck are you talking about?" Faith asked. "And what do you mean _you_ started this?"

"I started this Faith. This was my assault on the Circle and the only way out is us dying. I can't have you around here fighting, because you'll all die too. I appreciate you coming here and bringing them, but please, Faith, call the Slayers off."

"God Angel, what do you think I am, stupid?" Faith laughed. "You're not getting rid of us that easily. We're here to fight until we win."

"But you won't." Gunn wheezed.

"You won't win. _We_ won't win." Angel continued. "We knew that when we entered this fight. When we _started_ this fight."

Faith climbed to her feet and allowed Gunn to lie back on the ground. She took a few steps away from Angel, towards the door. The expression on her face was one of shock, disbelief and concern. "I don't know what's going on, but after the fight I'm gonna get some answers." She disappeared out the open doorway and into the night, off to join the fight.

Angel knew he should be out there fighting, and wanted to leave, but he was torn between staying with Gunn and leaving him alone to go out and fight. Fighting was what he did best, but one thing he'd also become good at was showing compassion towards others.

"Gunn." Angel called to his friend, seeing he was losing consciousness. "Gunn!" Angel could see that Gunn was losing the hope and will to hold on. "Come on Gunn, the ambulance won't be much longer."

Gunn looked up at Angel. "Don't worry 'bout me bro. You need to be out there." Angel looked down at Gunn, understanding what he was saying but still being torn between decisions. "Go!" Gunn ordered before he rested his head back on the ground.

Angel tried to move towards the door, but was also trying to hold himself back to stay with Gunn. He didn't want to leave, but at the same time he did. Another familiar face suddenly appeared at the door.

"Xander?" Angel said, surprised.

"Angel. Hi. Willow's performing a spell to close the portal, but you need to come out and fight."

"I can't, I've got to stay with Gunn." Angel replied, firmly making his decision.

"Buffy asked for you." Xander said softly. "I'll wait with him, you need to go." Xander knelt by Gunn's side and began observing his injuries. Angel sprung to his feet and rushed to the door. He stopped at the door and turned back.

"Gunn." Gunn lifted and turned his head to see Angel. "Thank you." He smiled and rested his head back down. Angel disappeared out the door and Xander and Gunn were left alone.

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Alley behind the Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles, mid-morning

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The Slayers were fighting off more of the enemies than Angel and his friends had fought in all the time they'd been fighting. Angel looked up at a window, beaming out a bright shining light.

_It must be Willow_. He thought, smiling. He grabbed a fallen foe's sword and rejoined the battle. Even though he was weakened physically, he was still emotionally strong and had the will to push on. He just hoped Gunn could hold on until the ambulance arrived.

Angel still hadn't found Buffy or Faith, and was unsure if Illyria or Spike were still alive. Before he'd even had the chance to search properly for them or strike down a single enemy, he felt an earth-moving shudder that rocked him from side to side for several moments. A glimmer passed through the alley before disappearing, and Angel looked up at the sky. Everything evil in the alley had stopped moving and the Slayers looked up at the sky just like Angel.

The clouds began to dissipate and fold into each other, slowly disappearing. Without realising the time of day, Angel remained staring into the sky as blue appeared behind the clouds and rays of sun poked through. He was hit with a ray and quickly moved into a shaded part of the alley, where he found the body of someone he recognised. Spike.

The blonde vampire was lying on his side, facing the alley and resting against the side of a dumpster. He was unconscious, and Angel crouched down in front of his face. It was cut, bruised and bleeding. Angel tilted his head sideways so that he and Spike were looking eye to eye, and stayed still until Spike woke.

His eyes flickered open and he saw before him his grand-sire. "Ghah!" he cried in shock, coughing up blood. "Angel, bloody hell don't do that." He scowled. He looked around to find that it was day and that all the demons had gone. "What happened?"

"Willow." Angel replied.

"Will… what's she doing here?" Spike saw all the girls standing in the alley and finally put everything together. "The Slayers."

Angel helped him to his feet; an act of kindness that was hidden from the eyes of everyone else, and the two vampires made their way through the shadows to where everyone appeared to be gathering in the alley.

"Good fight girls," shouted a strong male voice. "There are three ambulances parked out on the street. If you need medical assistance, go now because we're heading back to the buses."

"Is that…?" Spike asked.

"Giles." Angel finished his question with the answer. Half of the girls headed in one direction towards the ambulances and the other half moved towards the buses parked at the other end of the alley. Left standing together were Giles, Faith, Andrew, Buffy and Willow. Xander had taken Gunn out to an ambulance where they headed off to the hospital, but Angel didn't know.

Angel and Spike remained in the shadows, and watched as Faith whispered something into Buffy's ear. She turned around to see the only two vampires she had ever loved and loathed. She, Faith, Giles, Andrew and Willow began walking towards them.

"Look at you two." Buffy commented, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Are you alright?"

"I've been better." Angel replied. Spike stood, gaping mouth. "It's good to see you, though I would have liked it to have been under different circumstances."

Everyone looked at Spike. "Buffy I…" he began.

"It's alright Spike, Andrew told me that you were back. Took a while for me to believe it though." Spike looked at Andrew who was cowering behind Giles.

"So Buffy, uh… how have you been?" Spike asked, not sure what he should say.

"I've been pretty good. Busy, for sure, but good." And with that she stepped forward and gave Spike a hug. It was a tight hug, telling him that she'd missed him. She then proceeded to hug Angel before stepping back. "Do you wanna tell us what the hell is going on here?" Buffy asked.

"I promise you that I'll explain everything, but there are two things I need to do." Angel replied.

"'Hmm?" Buffy mumbled.

"I need to know where Gunn is."

"Oh, Xander's gone to the hospital with him." Willow answered his question. He just rang me on my cell phone. She smiled warmly in welcome, and Angel gladly returned it.

"What's the second thing?" Buffy asked.

"I need to get inside." Angel pointed to the sky, and everyone realised that the sun was actually out and that soon it would soon become dangerous for Spike and Angel because the shade was quickly disappearing.

"Where can we go?" Buffy asked. Angel looked over his shoulder and pointed to an opening between two halves of a brick wall.

"Through there is the old hotel. We can gather in there. Did you want to bring the Slayers in too?"

"Yeah, Andrew can you go and get them all and bring them into the hotel?" Buffy looked over to Andrew. "They could do with a rest before we head off again." He nodded and ran off in the other direction. Without another word, Angel and Spike pulled what was left of their coats over their heads and ran through the sunlight and into the hotel.

Once inside, they were protected and Angel left Spike's side and headed into his old office. He found that there was still a couch in the little room and plopped himself down on it with a grunt. Spike hobbled in after him, only just noticing a large wound on his upper thigh. He groaned as he sat down next to Angel.

"I still can't believe I'm alive." Spike said, turning to look at Angel. "I signed up to die, and I didn't."

"I know Spike. But let's not think about that right now." The others wandered in slowly, one by one. Buffy, Faith and Willow each found seats in the office and Giles stood at the doorway.

"So, what happened?" Buffy asked.

Angel sighed. "About a year ago, some big-wigs known as the Senior Partners gave us the keys to Wolfram and Hart. They told us that we could run it to how wee see fit. Over the past few months, I've been setting up this fight. First, I set up all the things that would lead to it. Lindsay being turned over to the Senior Partners, giving rights to demon clans so we could divide and conquer and even making my own team hate me and think I was dealing with the enemy. It all lead to this fight."

"But why?" Willow asked; confused after the information she received.

"Cordelia came to me and sent me a message, putting me back on track. Without her none of this would have happened."

"'Where is Cordelia?" Buffy asked. Angel looked away, almost in sadness. He only had a memory of her now.

"She's dead." He said simply. There was silence for a minute.

"I still don't understand why you did all of this, Angel." Willow spoke up. "And what does Cordelia have to do with it?"

"Cordelia showed me what I had to do. She could see that even from inside Wolfram and Hart, running it and making everything work; we really weren't doing much good. From a simple gesture she made to me, I understood exactly what I had to do. I was to set everything up for the end, then watch it fall."

"You burnt down the house while you were still inside." Giles tried suggesting a metaphor.

"Exactly." Angel answered. "Everything I've done these past two months has led to this day, this fight, this… win." The last word he said was in surprise. "All I planned to do was to show the Senior Partners that they don't own me, or any of us." He paused, looking to Spike beside him. "I showed them that they may be able to run the world, but they can't control it. _We_ showed them that we can screw up everything for them." Angel stopped; a satisfied look on his face.

"Well, that's interesting." Giles commented. "All this time, I thought you were doing the bad stuff inside of Wolfram and Hart."

"Angel would never cross to the other side; he's not like that." Spike protested. "He told us a few days ago when we all signed up for be a part of this fight that we were still fighting the good fight…"

"It was just more important…" Giles finished, nodding. There was a long, awkward silence that was only broken by Angel speaking directly to Willow.

"Willow, thanks for closing the portal." He said respectfully. "You must be more powerful now than I ever imagined." Willow smiled and turned away, embarrassed.

"What was that portal from?" Faith asked, after spending the entire time listening and doing nothing more.

"'That was the Senior Partners' reaction to everything I did. It was what I was expecting would come, I planned it. They rained Hell on us, unleashing the worst of the worst to destroy us. But I feel satisfied now, knowing that we beat them. They tried to destroy us, but we won. Now they know that we're stronger than they thought when they handed us the keys to Wolfram and Hart, and that it was the biggest mistake they could have ever made."

"Do you _want_ to run Wolfram and Hart Angel?" Giles asked.

"No." Angel replied, without hesitation. "I never did. I want to leave it all behind me. I have better things to live for now."

"So what now?' Buffy asked. "I mean, you don't want to run Wolfram and Hart anymore, you've won the biggest fight in your life, you've got all of us surrounding you and all your friends still with you."

"Not _all_ my friends." Angel replied sadly.

"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked. Everyone listened in to see what Angel was going to say. They knew straight away that he meant someone had died.

"Fred is dead." Willow choked out a response and turned to Buffy's shoulder to cry on. Buffy knew she and Fred were friends; they were close and even emailed each other. "Wesley is dead."

"_Wesley_?" Buffy asked. "He's here? With you?"

"He was." Spike piped up.

"He's dead now Buffy, a demon named Vail killed him just before this battle began." Suddenly, Angel realised who was missing. "Where's Illyria?"

"Excuse me, what did you just say?" Giles asked, suddenly getting interested. "Illyria?"

"Yeah, she's a new member of our team."

"Actually an 'old' new member." Spike corrected him.

"I know who Illyria is." Giles snapped. "You say that she's alive?" Angel nodded. "How?"

Spike rolled his eyes, knowing the story off-by-heart by now. He sighed loudly, but tried to put it at tactfully as possible. "A sarcophagus came into Wolfram and Hart, Fred breathed in some ancient dust and Illyria took over her body and mind. There is no Fred left."

"We tried everything. Poor Fred…" Angel's voice trailed off as he looked to his feet. "I couldn't…"

"Illyria is a dangerous and deadly enemy, and you say she fought _with_ you in this battle?" Giles said to Angel. He nodded.

Suddenly loud noises came from the lobby. Andrew and a crowd of Slayers came gushing into the hotel, and everyone in the little office headed straight out to see them.

Giles walked out last, and the pager in his trouser pockets began to beep. He pulled it out to see a message printed.

EMERGENCY. RETURN TO ENGLAND ASAP. JJ

"Buffy." He called ahead. "We have to go."

"What? Why?"

"Juliette just paged me. Something's wrong, we have to go." A second later, he received another page.

HELLMOUTH. COMPROMISED. LEAVE NOW. BRIEFING BACK HOME. JJ

"Buffy, I'm sorry but we have to leave. You can always come back once we sort out this new threat."

"What is 'this new threat' exactly? Where do we have to go so suddenly?"

"Juliet just said that there's an issue with a Hellmouth and that we have to leave now." He emphasised his point again. He knew that Buffy wanted to stay with Angel and Spike for a while longer, but both of them understood their place in the world and the role that they had to play.

Buffy sighed heavily and spoke to the crowd gathering noisily in the lobby. "We need to go." She shouted. Everyone looked at her, even Angel and Spike. "We need to leave here now. Everyone back to the buses, quickly and quietly. Go, now." She turned to Angel first.

"You have to go? Why?" he asked.

"I don't know. Giles got a page from England and we need to go, but I promise you that I will be back. I'll come as soon as I can, whenever we take care of this thing I'll return. I just want to be around you guys for a bit, that's all."

"That's understandable." Angel replied. "We'll wait." He smiled and hugged her goodbye. She moved on to Spike.

"Well, it's goodbye again luv." He said.

"Same to you Spike; I'll be back soon. I just want to get to talk to you both again." She smiled and hugged him before kissing him on the cheek. As she walked past Angel she gave him a peck on the cheek and waved to both of them.

They Slayers left, and Giles, Faith, Willow and Buffy headed after them. "Wait!" Angel called. "Willow, Faith, Buffy."

"What?" Faith answered for the three of them.

"Do you _all_ have to go? I mean, can't the new Slayers take care of this?"

"Angel, we still have to lead them. It's our job as the original Slayers to teach them. We can't just abandon them." Faith objected.

"I don't mean it like that; I just mean that Buffy wants to stay here and there are other people to fight instead of you. Don't you just want to test them to see if they can take care of something on their own, in case either or you aren't around?" Angel suggested.

"Good point, but no." Buffy answered.

"Angel, we want to hang around as much as you want us to but we have a responsibility."

"But the responsibility isn't just yours now, it's everyone's." Spike reminded them.

"Guys, please…" Buffy begged. "Don't do this to us. Don't try and make us stay, we told you that we're coming back."

"I know, but we're down in numbers and the Senior Partners could strike back at any time with any amount of strength. What if we can't take it on our own?"

"Are you asking us to stay and _protect _you?" Buffy queried. Angel looked away in embarrassment.

"Angel, you can take care or yourself." Faith told him.

"But Gunn is in hospital, with Xander, and we've already lost Fred and Wesley. Illyria's still outside somewhere and Lorne left, but other than that it's just the two of us. You can't honestly say that you're going to leave us like this."

Angel was playing on the guilt trip. He knew that they'd break. It wasn't just that he wanted them to stick around; it was more that he actually did need the help that they could offer. He wanted somebody else to be around to offer protection if the Senior Partners did strike again, and Willow finally cracked.

"What harm can it do? They need to learn to be independent and fight on their own. Besides, I'm not much of a fighter." She walked back towards Spike and Angel. They smiled and greeted her warmly as she stood beside them.

"Thanks Willow." Angel said. Faith sighed loudly.

"God, you guys are so gonna wish you didn't want us staying here. I'll make your life Hell." She joked, walking back over after Willow. It was Buffy and Giles left standing at the door.

"Buffy, are you staying too?" Giles asked.

"I…" She began. She desperately wanted to stay, but she didn't know if she could leave the young Slayers on their own. "I'll be back." Keeping a straight face with no expression, she turned and left through the glass double-doors. Giles followed behind, waving his hand as a goodbye as he exited after Buffy.

As they headed down the alley to the buses waiting, Giles said one sentence to Buffy.

"You made the right choice."

"Don't even start Giles." She wasn't angry, but she wasn't entirely pleased with the decision she ended up making. She wanted to turn back and run in to her two ex-lovers, but she couldn't. She knew Giles would be disappointed in her, and she didn't want that.

Besides, she'd be back.

Author's Note: It may be a little long for some people, but keep in mind that one chapter is an entire "episode" in the equivalent of the show. Well, what do you think so far? I've got big plans for this season, some of which are ideas from Sam the Smuggler. To him I am eternally grateful. Ready for episode 2?

NEXT ON ANGEL, how does everyone cope after the battle? Faith and Willow have joined Angel, but will things work out?


	2. Adjusting

Angel Season 6

Episode Two: Adjusting

Summary: How does everyone cope after the battle? Faith and Willow have joined Angel, but will things work out?

WARNING: LOW LEVEL COARSE LANGUAGE – just to be sure.

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Hyperion Hotel, early morning, two days later

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Willow and Faith were still asleep, and Angel and Spike sat downstairs in the lobby. Illyria stood at the double-doors, staring out into the world-that-was.

Xander had rung from the hospital the day before to say that he was leaving with Buffy and the Slayers, and that Gunn was safe in the B ward. Angel desperately wanted to visit him, but his own wounds hadn't healed yet.

He only now noticed how badly he was injured. He was bruised and bleeding from multiple wounds, which thankfully had begun to close up now. His chest ached, and he feared that he had broken some ribs. He had a deep gash in his right upper-arm that made it ache terribly every time he moved it. His clothing proved just how damaged he really was. Faith and Willow had kindly brought him and Spike some new clothes, as his shirt was just a mess of torn and tattered, burnt and shredded black material. His pants were no better off. Most of his jacket had been torn during the battle, so it wasn't in much of a condition at all.

Angel looked across the lobby at Spike, who sat on the circular-shaped pouf. He didn't look to be in much better shape than Angel. He too was wearing the new clothes Faith and Willow had bought, his own almost torn entirely to pieces and lying beside him. He had cuts and scratches all over his visible skin, mostly on his face, and Angel thought that yesterday he had seen a bone in Spike's arm sticking out. He had noticed earlier that Spike was limping, his left leg obviously injured badly. While changing into his new shirt, Angel saw cuts, bruises and gashes all over Spike's back and stomach, which he thought must hurt like hell.

"Spike." Angel said loud enough for Spike to hear him across the lobby. He looked up.

"Yeah?"

"You hurt badly?"

"Enough to be a pain in the ass, but I think I'll live." Angel smirked at Spike's comment. "What about you?"

Angel winced as he moved. "I think I may have broken a rib." He stood up and winced again before adding, "Or several."

"You in a lot of pain?" Spike became concerned for his grand-sire; something he never thought would ever happen.

"As you said, enough to be a pain in the ass." Angel repeated Spike's quote. Spike stood up and moved towards Angel. Even thought it had been two days since the battle ended, the two vampires were struggling to move around freely. Even for a vampire, it would take a while for their wounds to heal. Spike saw that Angel was having difficulty moving because of his ribs, and without a word took his arm and wrapped it around his own shoulder. Angel just looked at Spike, not saying a word, and accepted the help. Spike helped him up the stairs and Angel directed him to the room that was once his.

312. Angel pushed open the door and Spike eased the two of them through the doorway. He took Angel over to a chair, where he allowed the vampire to sit down on his own. Angel groaned in pain then relaxed, ignoring the pain that came with it.

Spike stepped back. "Do you want me to stay?" he asked.

"Only if you want. Faith and Willow will be awake soon. They're probably tired after the past couple of days." Angel answered.

Spike wandered into the kitchen of Angel's room and opened the fridge. Willow had bought some blood from the butchers in for them and had put it into Angel's fridge. Spike pulled out a bag and ripped off the corner. He searched for a mug, and finally found one that was clean. Pouring it he blood into the mug, he placed it in the microwave and pressed START twice. He leant back against the counter and stared across at Angel.

He stared back. There was silence. Angel was trying to figure out why Spike wanted to stay. Had they become closer, closer than he'd realised? Did Spike actually _like_ him instead of _hate_ him? The microwave beeped, Spike removed the mug and wandered over to Angel. He held out the mug to Angel, and without saying a word waited for him to take it.

Angel looked up at him. _Why are you doing this?_ He wanted to ask. _W__hat's going on_? But instead he just said, "thank you."

Spike smiled and returned to the fridge for another bag of blood, which he poured into another mug and placed in the microwave. He hit START again twice and returned to his position against the counter watching Angel.

He sat there, with the mug still in his hands. He watched Spike, perplexed as to why the younger vampire was _caring_ for him.

"You have to drink, get your strength up mate." Spike said to him from across the room as he took the other mug from the microwave. Angel looked down at the mug in his hands and slowly took a sip, followed closely by another. He could feel a cut on his top lip burning as the warm liquid touched the wound. He ignored it, just thankful to be able to have a drink and sit back and relax. After everything that had happened, it was all he wanted to do.

It wasn't that he didn't _want_ Spike to be there; it was just that he wanted to be alone. But he felt as if he liked having Spike's company. As long as Spike was quiet, he'd be allowed to stay.

Almost as if Spike could read Angel's mind, he spoke. "Do you want me to go now?" Angel looked up at him and rested the mug on his knee.

"'Spike, I don't know what I want right now. I just feel so confused. I want to sit alone, but I'm enjoying your company. I want to relax, but I can't because I'm in pain. I want to forget everything, but I can't because it's just not that simple."

"Life's not simple mate. _Things_ are never simple. And don't worry; I know exactly what you mean. I'm hurting all-over and I'm not sure what I want, but what I'm doing right now feels right."

Angel smiled. He had to ask. 'Why are you doing this?'

'Doing what?'

'Caring for me?' Angel asked.

'I…' Spike paused, thinking. 'I don't really know. I've told you before that I don't really like you, but after saying that I stayed and nearly died for you. So I'm not gonna say it now. Instead, I'm gonna say that I don't think I hate you as much as I've always led myself to believe.'

"Are you saying that you actually _like _me?" Angel asked.

"I don't know. All I know is that I don't hate you. Not after everything the two of us have been through. And I think that if we're gonna be living here together, then we have to put everything behind us, don't you think."

"Agreed." Angel replied.

"Alright then." Spike sat up on the counter-top and took a few sips from his mug. Angel brought his own mug up to his lips and took a sip, before resting it back on his knee. The two vampires sat in silence, watching each other closely. They had no idea why, and they didn't care. They could finally just sit and not have to worry about anything.

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Hyperion Hotel, same day, mid morning, Faith's room

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Faith's POV

I opened my eyes to find myself lying in an extremely uncomfortable and lumpy bed. _Oh right, I chose this room_. I thought to myself.

I sat up, stretching my arms above my head and yawning. Jeans and a t-shirt are surprisingly comfortable to sleep in.

I pulled back the covers and got out of bed. I walked over to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was crazy! I shook my head a few times and suddenly felt dizzy. I undressed, and turned on the shower. As I walked past the mirror, I saw the cuts and bruises on my body. Man, that fight finally caught up with me. I didn't feel like getting out of bed a few moments ago, but the sun was out and starting to shine through my window so I had to get up.

I stepped into the shower and let the hot water run down my back. I sighed freely, so glad to have a shower after that horrible night. I've been asleep for two days, except for when I got up for dinner last night. Red got some take-away from down the road. It felt good to eat.

_Food_. My brain kept repeating the same word. _Food. Food._ I stepped out of the shower and quickly towel-dried my hair. I put on some fresh clothes and walked back out into my room. I dropped the towel on my bed and opened the door. Combing my hair with my fingers, I walked down the hall and to the stairs.

"Yo, morning!" I called when I reached the top of the stairs. There was no one there. "Hello?"

I heard footsteps behind me. It was Willow. "Morning Faith." She said as she walked past me and down the stairs.

"How long you been up?" I asked her.

"Not long. I just had a shower.' She answered. "I've come down to see if there's anything to eat."

"Yeah, I just had a shower too. Feels good to wash away everything. There might be some leftovers from last night's dinner." I suggested.

"I'll see." Willow walked down the stairs from the landing near the door and headed off into a room off the side. I followed her, wondering where Angel and Spike were.

I stopped when I saw a familiar woman standing near the door, looking out. It's the same place where she stood yesterday. I doubt if she's even moved.

"Whatcha looking at?" I asked her. She turned to look at me.

"The world." She replied. "It has been partially destroyed by the battle that took place."

"Yeah, that's what comes with war." I answered.

"You care not for the safety of yourself. I saw you fighting, and you only wanted to protect those around you. Why?"

"I don't know, I guess it's in my nature as a Slayer."

"Slayer.' The woman tilted her head to the left. 'Protector of the humans, destroyer of the demons."

"Yeah, that's me. Buffy's a Slayer too. Do you remember her? Yay high, wavy blond hair, blue eyes, she left two days ago." I gestured Buffy's height with my hand, on the word 'yay'.

"I have not yet learnt to keep record of time the way you do. But yes, I do remember her. She left the vampires here with you and the redhead, and went off to fight another battle. The battle is all that matters, not the petty feelings of those around you."

"Right well I'm going to get something to eat. You all right here?" I asked, wanting to get away from the freakish blue-haired chick. She stared back at me. I rolled my eyes and walked away, following Willow into a room underneath the balcony.

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Hyperion Hotel, same day, later that afternoon

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Normal POV

Angel, Spike, Faith, Willow and Illyria came together to organise their lives now, and what they'd do to survive at the Hyperion Hotel.

"Are you two coping?" Willow asked, directing the question to Angel and Spike.

"Better than I thought actually." Spike replied.

"Yeah, and how are you two? You aren't too hurt from the fight are you?" Angel added.

"I'm a bit sore, got a few scratches and bruises but other than that, five by five." Faith replied.

Angel smiled, remembering her key phrase. "So what are we all going to do here?" He began. "There is no way that I'm going back to Wolfram and Hart, and with you two girls here we have to work out something to do if the Senior Partners decide to throw a counter-attack at us."

"I think the first thing we need to do, before working out a strategy, is decide what we're _actually_ going to do here?" Willow replied. "I mean, what did you all do at Wolfram and Hart? Surely we can come up with something to keep us going here. A business of some sort or something?"

"Before we were working at Wolfram and Hart we were running a business called Angel Investigations."

"What did you guys do?" Willow asked. "Detective work?"

"You were _Private Investigators_?" Spike cried in disbelief. "Wow Angel, that's a new one." Angel looked at Spike, puzzled. Earlier, he was being so caring and considerate of how Angel felt. Now, he was back to the same old _I'm a jerk_ attitude.

'Yes, Spike, we were P.I.'s. In some form."

"What do you mean _in some form_?" Willow asked.

"Well, we took care of the more… _supernatural_ cases. You know, demon-related cases." Angel explained.

"So basically, you took the stuff that the other big guys couldn't handle?" Faith summed up.

"Well, basically…" Angel hesitated. "…Yeah."

"Could we do that again, couldn't we?" Willow asked. "It sounds like a good idea to me.'

"Well, when Gunn comes back, we'll have somebody trained with knowledge of the law so things may even work out better than before." Angel told them.

"Sounds like a plan." Spike said. Illyria, who had actually joined in a human conversation, stared at Angel from the chair she was sitting in.

"Did you have something to add Illyria?" Angel offered.

"No. I do not care what you decide to do now. Your choices do not matter much to me, and you all wish that I were not here anyway."

"Now that's not true Blue…" Spike began.

"You all still see me as Winifred Burkle, but you must move past what you can see with your eyes. What you cannot see is the power I still possess. I can be valuable to you, as there is nothing left in this world for me to do now. I can fight, stronger than any of you. I have knowledge of things from times unknown to you, and of beings and places you could not comprehend. If you allow me to meld into your lives, maybe I can be of use as this shell, in this world."

Everyone stared at her, almost in shock for a moment. Angel spoke. "Illyria, you can be a part of this. If you want to make a place for yourself in our world, then you will need to be a part of this group and get used to how we do things." Angel explained.

"Then I shall." Illyria stated in response.

"Alright then." Spike said. "So what are we gonna do as a plan for if the Senior Partners strike back?"

"Well, I think we should start a new stockpile of weapons. I don't think there'd be much left in the weapons cabinet we kept, people have probably robbed this place since we left."

"Angel, don't worry about it. If something comes up with the Senior Partners, I'm sure we'll be able to handle it. And there's always Buffy and the Slayers to fall back on."

"No. I don't want to have to rely on the Slayers to cover my back. _Any_ of our backs. We're here to support each other, not to hang around and try and survive then when we _can't_ call on somebody else to save us. We're here to keep this city safe, and that's it."

"And keep us safe too." Willow added.

"Yes. And to start, I think we need to do a sweep of the streets. Come nightfall, Spike and I will do some reconnaissance work around the city, checking out some vampire nests I know of to see if anything is stirring. We'll also see if anything else has taken up living here." Angel proposed.

"Fine by me." Spike agreed with Angel's proposal, confusing him again. Angel couldn't figure out if Spike was being nice or if he was just being Spike. He thought back to their bonding session earlier that day. He had strangely enjoyed that time.

"What about us two?" Faith asked, gesturing to Willow beside her on the lounge. "I wanna get out and kick some ass too."

"How good are you at fighting Will?" Angel asked.

"I'm not the best. Definitely not at the standard you guys are." She replied.

"Then you and Faith can train. Downstairs in the basement there is enough room for some rough-and-tumble work, when you're up to it. It's where I trained Cordelia." Angel looked down at the floor, remembering his lost love. It also brought back memories of Connor. _Connor_. The name ran through Angel's mind. He had to find Connor and make sure that he was safe after everything that went down.

''I'm sorry Angel." Willow sympathised. "I know that Cordelia was working for you and that you two were close."

"No, it's alright." Angel jumped in quickly. _Connor_. The name flashed in his mind again. "I… I have to go." He got to his feet, ignoring a stab of pain in his ribs.

"Angel, it's the middle of the afternoon. You can't go out." Faith pointed out.

"Faith, I have to. There's something I have to do. There's someone I have to find." Angel disappeared into the basement, leaving everyone still sitting in the lobby.

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Los Angeles streets, outside of a bar, same day, later that afternoon

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Angel climbed out of a manhole in an alley somewhere in Los Angeles. The alley was fully cast in shadows, and as Angel looked around he saw at least 3 different demon clans grouped together in separate corners of the alley.

_Man, things are really tough out here now_. Angel thought. _Demons won't even attack each other_. He wandered up to a bar's side door and headed inside.

It smelt horrible. There was an overpowering stench of beer and an assortment of other alcoholic fumes. Smoke wisps floated around the bar, and as Angel breezed through they parted for him. He stepped up to the bar and sat down on one of the bar stools. The bartender, a demon, came over.

"What can I get ya?'" The demon asked in a raspy voice. He was short with murky-green scaly skin and short sharp-looking horns of a similar colour.

"I'm looking for somebody." Angel began.

"Lot's of things come in here boy, you might wanna be a bit more specific." The demon answered.

"Okay, well he's a demon, for starters." Angel started to describe the friend he once knew. "He's green, with little red horns on his forehead. He may have some information that could be of use to me… have you seen him?'

"Doesn't ring a bell, sorry mate."

"He sings."

"Oh wait, hang on." The demon was remembering. "Yeah, a guy came in here yesterday… fitted your description."

"Do you know where he went? Where he's staying? If he'll be back any time soon?" Angel asked.

"Nope, sorry can't help you there. But if I see him, I can send him to you, if you want." The demon suggested.

"Uh… thanks. Tell him Angel is looking for him, and to find him at the hotel. He'll know what that means." Angel turned and left, not even waiting for the demon to respond.

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Hyperion Hotel, same day, night

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Angel returned to the hotel to find the lobby empty, except for Spike, who was sitting on the countertop.

"I wondered when you'd be back." He called, sliding off. "I thought we had some work to do?"

"We do…" Angel replied. "I just… I had some stuff I had to do. We can go now." Spike looked at Angel, almost as if he was concerned for the older vampire.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No, nothing's wrong. I just… I have somebody to find." Angel answered.

"Anybody I can help locate? I haven't tracked anything for a while."

"Spike, I don't even know where to begin looking. I've started with an old friend; hopefully he'll come and be of some use. Now, do you wanna go or not?' Angel stared at Spike, waiting for his response. Spike rolled his eyes and the two vampires left.

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Los Angeles, same day, later at night

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Angel and Spike prowled the streets for hours, finding nothing. No vampire nests, no demons out for a nightly hunt. Nothing.

"Did every demon in this city go on vacation after the fight went down?" Spike asked Angel sarcastically.

"Come on." Angel led Spike to the bar he was in earlier that night, finding the same demon behind the bar.

"Ah, so you're back." He greeted.

"Yeah. Have you got anything for me?" Angel asked.

"Sorry, your friend hasn't been in tonight. But wait a little while and he might show. He's a late-night drinker."

Angel's memory of Lorne wasn't hazy at all, and he _never_ remembered Lorne as somebody who was up all night drinking. He liked his sleep, and was angry on many occasions when it was interrupted. Lorne _couldn't_ actually want to stay out this late drinking.

"Okay, thanks." Angel managed to reply amongst his deep thoughts and memories of Lorne. He turned away from the bar and led Spike to a table against the far wall, where there was a clear view of the door.

"So what, are we just gonna wait for your_ friend_?" Spike sneered.

"My _friend_ is Lorne, Spike. I went looking for him earlier, but he wasn't here." Angel explained.

"I see." Spike replied. He hesitated before adding, "And so we wait." Angel puffed up his lip as if to say 'yes' and the two vampires sat watching the door for several minutes in silence. Spike broke the silence with a scuffle of his feet on the stone floor. "I gotta get me some beer. I'll be back in a minute."

"I'll keep watch." Angel answered as he watched the younger vampire walk over to the bar. He strangely was beginning to enjoy his bonding sessions with Spike. It was weird; he'd never done this before. It kind of bugged him that he was suddenly able to sit and just _be_ with Spike without any sort of opposition at all.

At the bar, Spike ordered himself a bottle of whisky. "Just one mate." He answered the demon's question of quantity. He passed a bottle over the counter, which Spike eagerly took and paid the demon his charge. He returned to Angel, seeing a familiar face walk through the door. Angel must have caught sight of him too, because when Spike looked over he was gone from his seat.

"Lorne." Angel said, suddenly appearing in front of Lorne at the door. Lorne looked up, a shocked and bewildered expression on his face.

"Angel?" He froze. "Is it really you?"

"Yeah. How have you been?"

"I'd be lying if I said I've been good." Lorne replied. "God, I'm just glad you survived. What happened?"

"Long story. Involves Slayers." Angel paused. "No, actually that's about it." He smiled, and Lorne returned it with a toothy grin of his own.

"So where have you been since we started this thing?" Lorne asked, being careful not to say that it was actually _all_ Angel's doing setting everything up. "It's been days, and I haven't seen you anywhere. Heck, I didn't even know if there was going to be a you to see anywhere."

"I'm sorry Lorne." Angel began. "I've been kind of busy back at the hotel. Things have been quite hectic since the battle."

"And what a battle it was, I heard from a source who watched from the roof above. He said the fight was huge and lasted for hours. He also said that there were armies fighting on both sides of several hundred. What's the go with that?"

"Slayers." Angel replied. "They came to help, then left. But Willow and Faith stayed back with us. We're going to start up Angel investigations again."

"Good for you, you gotta get yourself back into the 'helping people' routine again." Lorne said. "You left that behind when we joined Wolfram and Hart."

"I know, and I regret that. But things are going to be different now. There is no way I'm ever going back there. We're going to be operating out of the Hyperion, and things are going to be better."

Spike joined the two demons at the door. "Nice to see you Lorne." Spike greeted.

"You too. So how many of us survived the battle?" Lorne asked, regretting the question instantly.

"You're looking at two of them, and Gun and Illyria are still here too." Angel informed Lorne.

"Gunn made it? Good for him. And also for Illyria… I mean, she's been helpful, right?"

"Yeah. She's offered to stay and help us. She's trying to be human, but I don't think its working."

"And what about Wes?" Lorne asked almost too cheerfully.

"Um… Lorne, Wes didn't make it to the fight. Illyria came and told us in the alley that he was dead and that's all we heard." Angel explained.

"Oh." Lorne was quiet for a moment. "I see, well, at least you guys are all here. And you say that Faith and Willow are back?" Angel nodded in response. "Great!" It was clear that Lorne was trying to cover up his feelings.

"Do you want to come back to the hotel with us? It would be great to have you back, but only if you want to."

"You know what, I've been doing sweet bugger-all ever since the fight. I think it would do me good to get back into the Angel Investigations thing. So yes, Angel, I'll come back." Angel nodded thankfully.

"Let's get out of here, this place stinks."

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Hyperion Hotel, same day, close to midnight

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Angel, Spike and Lorne strolled casually through the courtyard, heading into the hotel.

"So what's been going on these past few days? How is the place?" Lorne asked, and Angel smiled.

"Oh, not much. Just adjusting really. You know, getting used to being here again." He explained.

"And not to mention_ healing_." Spike added.

"Yeah, that more than anything." Angel continued. As Angel opened the door and let Lorne, Spike and himself in he found Faith and Willow were sitting waiting for them to return, and Illyria stood silently by a window peering out.

"Guys, it's so great to see you!" Lorne cried gleefully, as a smiling Willow and Faith got to their feet to say hi to their old green friend.

"Lorne, how you doing man?" Faith patted him on the back.

"I'm doing okay."

"Hi Lorne." Willow smiled awkwardly and hugged him, then took a step back. She glanced at Faith.

"Is something wrong?" Angel inquired. "You girls are up pretty late."

"Well, Illyria said something to us… about Wes." Faith explained. "She wants us to give him a funeral." Angel paused.

"Oh. Uh, of course. I don't… really know where he is…"

"I do. I remember exactly where he was when I left his side." Illyria walked over briskly to join the circle. "He should have a proper funerary service. Show some respect to the dead."

Angel nodded. "Okay, Illyria. Show us where he is and we'll give him a funeral first thing tomorrow morning. He deserves that from us, if nothing else."

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Vail's Chambers, same day, close to midnight

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Illyria stalked through the halls, knowing the exact way to return to where she had left Wesley's body. She turned corners and didn't bother to make sure the others were following her, she just kept moving.

Finally she reached Vail's Chambers, and as soon as she took one step inside the doorway she froze. Angel, Spike, Faith, Willow and Lorne stopped behind her, realising that Wesley's body was lying right in front of them. They waited for her to make the first move.

"Is everything alright, Illyria?" Angel asked.

"Wesley." She stated, approaching slowly. She knelt down beside him, and everyone else gathered around.

"Do you need a minute?" Willow offered.

"No. I feel human emotions, but they can wait." Illyria answered Willow with a somewhat harsh response. Angel and Spike stepped forward, each taking one of Wesley's arms and putting it around their shoulder. They took a leg each and carried their friend out, returning to the hotel and placing his body upstairs in Wesley's old room on his old bed.

"Could I spend the night by his side?" Illyria asked Angel as he and Spike left the room. Angel stared at her.

"Yes. Go ahead Illyria. We'll come back in the morning." Angel smiled and touched her arm briefly. She looked down at his hand as it brushed off her, then looked into Angel's eyes. She forced a tiny smile and closed the door behind her.

Angel saw Lorne walking down the hallway. "Lorne!" He called. "Do you want to stay the night?"

"Uh… sure, why not." Lorne replied, turning around. "Is there still a vacant room for me?" Angel smiled.

"Yeah, come on." Angel waited for Lorne then led him down the hall, passing Spike who followed behind them to his room down the hall from Angel's. Angel took Lorne to a room across from Spike's, and the three demons went to bed for the night.  
Spike collapsed onto his bed, lying there for a while before actually falling asleep. Lorne tenderly prepared his bed and made himself comfortable for a good night's sleep, something he'd been deprived of for a while. Just knowing he was back with the people he trusted the most was enough to make him sleep easier. And Angel, in the safety of his own hotel and his own room, was finally able to let rest all the worries he had about Connor and Lorne. In the morning, he'd speak to Lorne about finding Connor, and somehow that made him feel as thought everything was going to be alright.

Author's Note: Some people may criticize how easily Lorne slipped back into the group. You may say that he would hold a grudge against Angel for making him kill Lindsay, which is probably true. But I don't want any of that in this story, not yet anyway. The topic _should_ come up eventually, but it can wait until another chapter. For now the story is just developing and I want to organise the group and get everything up and running. Also, I didn't want to have Lorne being left out, because he _had_ to be in the story. Getting him back into the group draws everyone back together and will eventually lead to the raising off issues such as Lindsay's death. It will be addressed.

By the way, thanks to the people who reviewed.

NEXT ON ANGEL, what do you do when you find yourself in a time and space you've already experienced once before? You find out how the heck you can get back!


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